In Sickness and In Health
by daftmunky
Summary: Nell turns up to Eric's after he has been off sick for a couple of days and he is helpless to protest.
1. Chapter 1

**Authors Note;** Hey guys :) This is my third Neric fic. This one will be a short multi-chapter. I'm currently looking at about four chapters, as I'm working on something else as well which is going to be considerably longer. Give it a read and let me know if you think its worth continuing :)

Constructive criticism is always welcome and I love, love, love to hear your feedback! Even if its just to let me know what you like/disliked!

Characters may not be totally in character, but I always get this feeling like the team are all more relaxed outside of work, and this is just may way of portraying it, so try not to be too put out and like I said, let me know if you think anything is too unrealistic and I will work on it for future chapters/fics.

But other than that, read on and enjoy, you amazing person :)

The knock on his door was very faint, drifting through to his dark bedroom from the front of his house. He groaned, rolling over in preparation to try to get up but the nausea rolled in again. _They'll just go away,_ he thought, stilling his movements once again and sinking back into the bed. The knocking came again, but this time he refused to move.

"Eric?" _I know that voice_, he groaned again, realising that if there was one person in the world who wouldn't just leave if he didn't answer his door it would be her, "Eric?! I'm coming in!" _She doesn't have a key._ Soon enough he heard the door opening and footsteps. Her boots clicked quietly against the wooden flooring and his door that was open a crack slowly swung fully open. He closed his eyes tightly at the sudden light coming into his room and made a pitiful sound. When he opened his eyes again there was a gun pointed at him.

"Jesus, Nell!" He croaked, his eyes widening in shock and surprise.

"Eric! God, I'm sorry!" She squeaked, realising that she was still pointing her service weapon at him she quickly clicked the safety on before shoving it back into its holster clipped to the back of her rarely-worn jeans, "Wow, you really are sick, aren't you?" He made another pitiful moan and pulled the duvet up over his face.

"Go… way." He felt her tug the covers back down off his face and the bed jostle as she perched on next to him.

"Na-uh," her cool fingers brushed his sweaty hair off his damp forehead before she rested the back of them against his skin, gauging his temperature, "Eric, you're burning up!"

"Cold." He coughed out, moving his back away from her touch and snuggling down into the relative warmth of his bed.

"Okay, you're really sick. I need cool you down a little alright?" He shook his head, temporarily forgetting that this would only make him feel dizzy, "Listen to me, you have a fever. The only way to get you better is to cool you down."

"Cold." He forced out between chattering teeth, determined not to let her win this. However she was working at full strength, which was surprising for her size, so it didn't seem to take much effort for her to overpower him. She stood up and yanked the covers off his body, tossing them onto the floor behind her. The sudden cold forced him to curl up into foetal position to preserve what little warmth his body was providing him, "Go...way!" He mumbled flinging one arm out feebly to search for the heavy comforter to cover himself back up. She grabbed his hand and tugged, pulling his body up into a seated position and pushing him back against the headboard. He glared at her but couldn't find the strength to move back down the bed. He couldn't even bring himself to care that he was in 3 day old Spiderman pyjama pants, a long sleeve t-shirt and a fluffy hoodie that made him look like a 12 year old.

"No!" She huffed, stomping into his en suite bathroom and he heard the shower switch on. When she came back into the bedroom she ignored him, instead going into his closet. He heard her rummaging around.

"What are you doing?" He coughed, rubbing his hand over his eyes, wincing at the headache kicking in. She came back in, and he felt his jaw drop. She was wearing nothing but one of his dark t-shirts.

"Close your mouth, or you're going to start catching flies." He could not believe his eyes. Suddenly he forgot his whole body aching, the cold, the dizziness. _She has never looked more stunning_, he thought, before mentally slapping himself. _She's your partner, idiot, your partner! _And yet here she is, strutting around **his** house, wearing nothing but **his** t-shirt, and he couldn't do anything, because he was frigging sick.

"Again, what are you doing?"

"I," she said, walking over to him where he was still sitting, stunned, on his bed, and taking his hands, tugging him to the edge and getting him to stand up, "Am getting you into the shower." Feebly he tried to fight her off.

"No, I just need to sleep."

"Eric, I need to cool your body temperature down or you're not going to get better!" He mumbled another protest but allowed her to slip one of his arms around her shoulders while one of hers wound around his waist and she pulled him to the bathroom. By the time they got there she was a little red in the face from taking most of his weight and he was closing his eyes to stop the room from spinning around him. She sat him gently on the closed toilet seat, leaning him back gently so that he wouldn't slip off, "I'm going to get some towels. When I get back you we are getting out the shower and cooling you off."

"Sorry, we?"

"Eric, you are not going to be able to hold yourself up in the shower. I'm coming in to make sure you don't fall and slip and give yourself a concussion." He panicked slightly at the thought of being in the shower with Nell. She must have noticed because she blushed a furious shade of red and gave him a light punch to the front of his shoulder. He winced slightly at the contact, his muscles aching from all the shivering he had been doing over the past two days, "Don't worry, you can keep your boxers on and I'm going to keep my clothes on."

"You mean **my **clothes." He let slip and mentally slapped himself again. She blushed once more but didn't say anything before moving out of the bathroom, leaving him alone briefly again. _Get a grip!_ he growled at himself. She reappeared again. He hadn't moved, but she just rolled her eyes, throwing the pile of towels over the rails, and coming over to where he sat. She stood in front of him, arms crossed over his chest and, although he was sick he was still a guy, and he tried to avert his eyes from where the t-shirt rode up slightly, exposing her delicate thighs a little more.

"You have to take your pyjamas off," she said quietly, raising an eyebrow at him, "And I would probably burn them afterwards." She joked. He chuckled hoarsely, but didn't move. She sighed and stepped towards him. She had one leg on either side of his so she was effectively straddling his leg, causing him to gulp and shuffle uncomfortably, acutely aware of her petite body pressing against him. She raised her hands slowly and took the hem of his hoodie in her hands and began pulling it up. He crossed his arms, effectively stopping her movements.

"Nell, what are you doing?" He asked for what felt like the hundredth time in half an hour.

"Either you take them off or I do." He huffed, uncrossing his arms and taking the hem of his hoodie from her, starting to pull it up. His muscles protested angrily and he groaned, stopping and panting before he had lifted it over his head. Seeing that he was struggling Nell took pity on him and took control back, carefully pulling one arm out at a time before lifting the jumper the rest of the way off and dropping it behind her. He blushed, but was unable to do anything to stop her, knowing that she was right, _As always_. She did the same thing with his t-shirt, leaving him sitting there shirtless, shivering. She smiled at him apologetically, but he grinned slightly as he caught her drifting gaze. She took his hands, once more tugging him into a standing position, but didn't say anything, instead opting to look at his pants pointedly. He got her message and steadied himself on her shoulder, pushing his pants down with one hand, deliberately keeping his boxers on. When he met her gaze once more he saw that she was blushing just as much as he was, but she let him put his other hand on her shoulder, putting hers on his waist, and stepping back, making sure he stepped out of the flannel pants.

"Isn't this supposed to go the other way?" He joked, trying to use humour to diffuse the strange tension that had started to fill the space between them. Thankfully she was fully aware of his bad habit of using his strange sense of humour when he felt out of his element. She turned from him and opened the glass door to his shower cubicle before stepping inside, pulling him in with her. At first it was awkward. The cubicle was small and neither wanted to risk brushing against the other inappropriately. Eric began to shiver violently from the water that felt like ice driving against his sensitive skin, "F-f-for G-Gods sake, N-N-N-ell, its-s-s fre-ee-z-z-ing!" The t-shirt she was wearing was saturated, sticking to her body enticingly. She reached around him and took the bottle of shower gel out of the rack hanging over the temperature control, in the process pressing her body against him. He bit his lip to prevent himself from groaning at the contact.

"It's not. Which is why I needed you to get in here," she lathered up the gel and to his embarrassment she started to wash his arms gently.

"N-Nell, I c-c-can wash m-m-mys-self."

"Eric, you couldn't lift your jumper over your head. You're not going to be able to wash your back or your hair." She was right. _Again._ He hung his head in defeat and allowed her to continue gently massaging his aching muscles. She turned him around slowly and he braced his hands against the wall of the cubicle, allowing the water to hit his chest and wash off the soap that she had rubbed into him. Her massaging continued over his shoulders and down his back and he couldn't deny the fact that it felt comforting, relieving and arousing all at the same time. When she was done with his back she gently pushed one shoulder, signalling for him to turn around. As he turned a dizzy spell hit once more and he stumbled forward, crashing into her. Instinctively he wrapped one arm around her waist and caught himself against the opposite wall to the last one he had braced himself on. Her hands had come up and grabbed his shoulders supporting herself. She giggled slightly at their new compromising position but didn't move. He stayed still as well, waited for the dizziness to pass, and then stayed that way, revelling in the feel of her held against him, "Alright, you big baby," she joked, gently (_always gently_) pushing him back to a standing position, but holding onto his shoulders still to keep him upright. He reached behind himself and turned off the water and braced himself against the walls once more, "I'm going to grab you a towel and help get you out, then I'm going to go and get you some clean clothes, okay?" He closed his eyes but nodded, letting her know he understood. He felt her move out of the shower and then he felt her wrap a warm, fluffy towel around his shoulders, "Take my hands." She said, and he opened his eyes and did as she instructed, making it over to the toilet before letting the dizziness crash over him again. He closed his eyes and heard her grab a towel of her own before hearing the bathroom door opening and closing. He sat, letting his head spin and his ears ring, pulling to towel tighter around himself and shivering once more. He heard her re-enter the room, but didn't open his eyes, "Come on, Eric." She coaxed, releasing his grip on the towel. She began to pat his skin. She took the used towel away from him and handed him a new one. He opened his eyes, and saw that she had put a pile of clean clothes on the edge of his sink for him. He also saw that she had gotten dried and changed back into her jeans and shirt. He ignored the fleeting feeling of disappointment that slashed through him, "I'm going to leave you to get dressed. When I come back I'm going to wash your hair in the sink, so you better be dressed in about 5 minutes, okay." He nodded and she left again. Eric sat there for a minute longer before braving his weak legs and standing. He quickly changed out of his wet boxers and dried off but sat back down before looking through the clothes she had brought in for him. He flushed when he saw that she had grabbed a clean pair of boxers for him, but was grateful that she had been thoughtful enough not to make him go commando. He heard a knock on the door and started.

"Give me a minute." He croaked as loudly as possible. As quickly as his aching body allowed him to he pulled on the thin t-shirt and pair of basketball shorts she had taken from the depths of his closet. When she knocked again he made some guttural noise, but didn't try to speak. The door opened and Nell peeked in tentatively.

"You good?"

"Yeah." She came fully into the room, dragging the chair from his work desk behind her.

"Okay, on this chair," she grabbed his hands and pulled him up before carefully sitting him on the chair in front of the sink. She leant him back, resting his neck on a bunched up towel on the edge of the sink. He heard the water running and filling something before warm water cascaded over his hair, soaking it. When her fingers started to massage the shampoo into his scalp he couldn't help but sigh and close his eyes, relaxing, "Are you feeling better?"

"I'm still really cold," he admitted, opening one eye to jokingly glare at her, but closed it again when she flicked his nose lightly, "But other than that? I feel a bit better." Silence fell and she shuffled closer to him, leaning over to get to the back of his head.

"Sooo, how long were you hibernating in those less than stellar smelling clothes?"

"Erm, a day or two maybe?"

"Eric, gross!" She laughed, but rinsed her hands under the tap. The water started filling the jug and when it was full she tipped it over his hair once more, rinsing out the shampoo. She repeated the process of rinsing a couple more times, each time massaging his scalp tenderly. Convincing himself he was too weak to protest, he allowed himself to relax fully for the first time since he woke up feeling ill. When he could string a coherent thought together he gave a deep sigh.

"When I was little and I became sick, my Mum used to snuggle me up on the couch and watch movies with me all day. She would make me her special garlic concoction and make me drink it," he chuckled at the memory, "But I would always fight her on it, even though I knew I wouldn't be able to taste it, but just knowing what was in it was enough." Nell giggled too, temporarily stopping her ministrations long enough to grab a fresh towel. She started to rub his hair, mindful of his headache.

"Sounds like you are close." He opened his eyes, and took the towel from her.

"Yeah, we were." He didn't look at his partner, just fiddled with the towel in his lap.

"Oh, God, I didn't- I didn't know. I'm so sorry."

"Its okay," he mumbled, "It was a long time ago."

"Do you want to talk?"

"No." He tried to stand too quickly and the dizziness hit once more. Thankfully she was there to catch him.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry." She took his weight again and moved him into his bedroom. He made a beeline towards the bed but she steered him away.

"Where are you going?"

"Lounge." She said, bringing him to the intended room. She had closed the curtains for him, and dropped him onto the sofa, "Just stay here for a minute, okay?" She moved away from him into the kitchen where he could still see her.

"Nell, I'm cold, why am I here? I wanna go to bed."

"Quit whining! I'm going to get you something to drink, okay." He groaned but closed his eyes, listening to her bustling around his kitchen. There were pots clattering and the sound of her chopping something but he couldn't bring himself to open his eyes to see what she was doing. He must have dozed off because the next thing he knew Nell was shaking him awake, "Here." She said, handing him a mug.

"What is it?" He croaked, voice even rougher with sleep.

"Apple water."

"How long was I out for?" He asked, taking the mug from her.

"About 2 hours," she shrugged, indicating for him to drink up, "I checked in with Hetty, she says 'Get better soon, Mr Beale.' Eric, drink!" He tentatively took a sip, finding that it was actually a good.

"What is this?"

"I told you, apple water."

"Thanks, smart ass. Yeah, but how do you make it?" He asked, taking another tentative sip. He was acutely aware of the fact that there was nothing he had been able to keep down over the last couple of days. She sat on the couch next to him, curling her legs up underneath her and sipping her own mug, although he could smell the coffee in hers.

"Easy. Boil some water with a cut up apple in it until the apple softens. Pour the mixture through a strainer, add a little honey and let it cool." He continued to drink, letting the flavoured water rehydrate him, "When was the last time you ate or drank anything?"

"Umm, a couple of days ago.. right around the time I showered." He smiled, but stopped when he saw how unimpressed she looked, "Can I go back to bed? I'm still really tired?" He gave her his best puppy eyed look. She smirked and gave him a sympathetic look.

"Yes, you can. Need help getting there?"

"Probably." He grumbled, but let her pull him up, "You know, I'm basically you're rag doll at the moment, aren't I?" She laughed, but didn't disagree. When he got to his room, he saw that she had been busy in the two hours he had been napping on the couch, "You changed the sheets?"

"Yeah. You didn't expect me to actually let you go back to that bed that you have been festering in for the last 3 days?"

"Fair point." He conceded. She ducked out from under him and pulled back the corner of the new crisp sheets that she had made his bed up with. He crawled in and sighed at the feeling. He was surprised to see her tuck him in before plopping down next to him and leaning against the headboard, "What are you doing?"

"You know, anyone would think that you've never been taken care of," she said lightly, picking up the remote off the bedside table and switching on the TV that sat on the low chest of drawers opposite the bed, "But to answer your question, we are watching a movie." He watched her for a moment before turning his attention to the movie. She had put in the remake of Star Trek, which made him smile. He was, after all the one who had made her watch it in the first place. As Kirk got into a bar fight he felt himself beginning to succumb to sleep.

"Thank you." He mumbled, closing his eyes and letting himself doze off once more.


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors Note;**Hey guys! So I've gotten a couple of reviews on the first chapter, and quite a few people have read it so I'm happy :) Lets see if more of you can review this time? Pretty please with an Oreo on top? :)

A couple of notes on this chapter:

1) I always imagined that Deeks and Nell were quite good friends because they joined NCIS around the same time, giving them something to bond over, hence their friendship in my some of my stories.

2) General Tsao's Chicken is bits of chicken in cornstarch, deep-fried and then cooked in a dark sauce including hoisin, dark soy and chilli. For some reason I thought _Kensi would probably eat this_ the first time i had it.. Yes I am creepy obsessed enough to think that a character will probably like a food if I eat something that strangely reminds me of them… Oh goodness I think I need therapy!

And I think that's it for now.. So read, enjoy, review, favourite, follow, whatever you want to do :)

Big, big thank you for reading! x

"Thank you." Nell heard Eric mumble, just before his head drooped, finally giving in to sleep. She watched him for a while, ignoring the movie playing on the TV. He looked so young in his sleep. His blond hair was fully dried now and in its usual disarray and his cheeks flushed with fever. His lips were parted slightly and little huffs of air passed between them. She gently checked his temperature with her hand again as she had been sporadically throughout the day when he had been sleeping on the couch. _I wonder why he never told anyone he was sick_, she thought, smiling down at her partner. He had never looked more peaceful. As she brushed his hair back away from his face he shifted gently and mumbled a little in his sleep, "Nelly." This caused her to smile softly. She switched off the movie and carefully crawled off the bed. As he felt the bed move though he gravitated towards the movement, latching an arm around her waist. While it was all very cute she pried his arm away and got off the bed, watching as he pouted in his sleep and rolled into her previously occupied warm spot. She couldn't resist bending over and kissing his forehead lightly. He must have felt it because he stopped frowning and instead smiled slightly, before giving a violent shiver. Taking pity on him she pulled the comforter up over him and tucked it around his shoulders. After watching him for another minute, satisfied that he wasn't about to wake up Nell left the room, leaving the door pulled too. As she got into the kitchen she pulled out her phone and dialled a familiar number.

"_What's up, Jones?"_

"Deeks," she said, her tone making it clear that she wasn't playing around, "Are you able to bring my go-bag to Eric's? He's pretty sick at the moment."

"_So you're playing Naughty Nurse Nell?"_ His cheekiness, while endearing at times, really did drive her up the wall at others.

"Shut up, Detective Dickhead Deeks," she snapped and ignored his sniggering, "Can you bring my go-bag or do I need to call Kensi?"

"_Alright grumpy! I'll bring it by after work. Hold on,"_ he said. She stayed on the line while he was having a little conversation with someone, "_With a stack of paperwork that Hetty wants you to upload to the system with your tablet while you're playing nurse."_ Nell groaned, but didn't argue, knowing how generous their boss was being to let her have the day off.

"Thank you."

"_All good, Nellikins."_

"Cya later."

"_Toodles."_ Nell shook her head at her friends antics, but hung up without retorting. _What to do, what to do?_ she thought to herself, looking round her partners house. She had never actually been here for an extended period of time, only to come and pick him up, or drop him off from work. The bungalow was surprisingly spacious for a bachelor. He had a large open plan kitchen, dining and living area. A bathroom went off the hall with an entrance into the guest room, from both the corridor and the bathroom. Next to the bathroom was a little alcove with a workstation and next to that there was a laundry with a washer and dryer. Photographs adorned the white walls. Most were black and white. All very artistic. She admired each of them. Her favourite was of a surfer. One in a huge crowd of them riding a huge wave while the rest just bobbed in the water. There was a grace to the surfer. The way his body angled to counteract the velocity of the waves, the way one arm was thrust out for balance while the other was pointed down towards his feet. His board was cresting over the top of a wave and the wake was still defined in the wave.

Turning away from the pictures she cast her eye around. In his 3 day hiatus from the world Eric's house had become dusty and a bit stale smelling. In the laundry she found some cleaning products and set about freshening up the place. Hopefully cleaning the place down with a citrus smelling antibacterial would help her sick partner feel better, and help stop him from living in festering bacteria. After cleaning all the surfaces and dusting the place down she set about doing the few dishes that had been left out, watching the clock. Just as she finished drying the last cup a knock sounded loudly on the French doors. She raced through the lounge and opened the door before he could knock again.

"Shut up!" She hissed, swinging the door open for the Detective and his partner, "Eric's asleep!"

"Ooooh, you have fun tiring him out and tucking him in- OW!" He cried as Kensi punched his arm. Hard.

"Shh!" The two females hissed at him together.

"Sorry," Kensi said quietly to Nell, "How's he doing?" Nell sighed and took her go-bag that Deeks held out to her.

"When I got here he was in bed with a high fever and had been for a couple of days. I got him to take a shower and cooled his temperature down a bit."

"Has he eaten?" Deeks asked, showing a sign of maturity for his friend.

"No, I didn't think he was going to keep anything down earlier, but I was planning on making some broth or something for dinner."

"Okay, well we were going to get some takeout. Do you want us to pick something up for you? I can't imagine his cupboards would have the makings of a reasonable meal." Kensi asked. Nell smiled at her friends thoughtfulness and nodded.

"Yeah, that'd be great, thank you."

"'Kay, we'll be back soon then," Deeks said, ushering Kensi back out the door. She started walking back to her car and Deeks was about to follow her when he turned, looking back at Nell, "You're taking good care of him, Nell. I'm sorry if I was a dick to you earlier."

"It's okay, Deeks," she smiled and gave him a quick hug, "It's you, I get it." He smiled back and dropped a quick kiss on the top of her head.

"We'll be back." He said ominously before turning and chasing after his partner. Nell sighed, closing the door. Going back to the kitchen she put away the dishes she had dried before the partners turned up and then checked the clock. 5:30pm. Eric had been asleep for about 3 hours now, so she decided that it would be safe to wake him up. That and she was getting bored. She poured him another glass of apple water and quietly opened the door to the bedroom. Her partner hadn't moved from where she had left him earlier. He was lying on his back with his body angled slightly towards the vacant left side of the bed; his left arm was thrust out where he had flung it when he was searching for her warmth, with his right lying over his chest. She put the glass on the bedside table and slowly sat on the left side of the bed, trying not to jostle him. He must have sensed the movement however as he rolled over, taking his arm that had been resting on his chest and wrapped it around her waist. She smiled at his subconscious movement and brushed her fingers gently over his forehead, once more checking his fever. It had dropped significantly, she was pleased to find, but he was still incredibly warm. After she was satisfied he wasn't in danger of burning up once more she ran her fingers through his short hair, massaging his scalp slightly like she had done when she was washing his hair.

"Hey sleepyhead," she whispered as he started moving more, slowly coming to, "You fell asleep in the movie." He made some noise that sounded like 'mmhdry', making her giggle once more. He groaned and pulled closer to him, snuggling his head into her neck. She wasn't sure if he was awake enough to be aware of his actions but she allowed him to anyway, "Come on, buddy, you need to wake up. I brought you some more apple water," she coaxed. He eventually gave a heavy sigh but dragged himself away from her body, rolling back onto his back and pulling himself up, propping himself against the pillows she stacked behind him.

"Thanks." He rasped, taking the proffered glass.

"How are you feeling, Wolfram?" He smiled at her use of the nickname but put the glass on his side table.

"Been better," he said, snuggling down into the warmth of his bed, "Could do with some more sleep though." She saw him close his eyes just before he rolled over onto his side so he was facing away from her.

"Na-uh-uh." She said, pulling to duvet off of him, ignoring his growl once more and throwing it to the ground again, "Up! Kensi and Deeks are going to be back soon and they both want to make sure you're okay."

"Kensi and Deeks were here?" He asked, rolling back over to face her.

"Yes, they dropped my go-bag here and offered to bring me back some food. Your cupboards are practically bare."

"Your go-bag? You're staying here?" She blushed, realising how presumptuous she had been, "If that's okay with you…" She trailed off.

"Um, yeah, of course you can!" He said quickly, coughing slightly as he breathed in too quickly and irritated his dry throat, "So when did the dynamic duo say they were going to be back?" Nell checked the time on her phone just as there was a knocking on the door.

"I'd say right about now," she said, jumping up off the bed and crossing to his door. When she reached the threshold she turned back and glared at him, "Up! I expect you out there in 15 minutes. Max!" He grumbled loudly, squishing a pillow over his face, but waving her off. She entered the lounge as Deeks knocked again, "Come in!" She called, going through to the kitchen and getting three plates down as well as a large mug for Eric's broth.

"How's Sleeping Beauty doing?"

"He's a bit better. I just woke him up so he should be out here soon. At least he will be if he doesn't want me to go back in there and drag him out here in his boxers!" She finished, yelling the last sentence loud enough so Eric would be able to hear her from the other room.

"Well, we brought sustenance for the nurse." Kensi said, dumping the bags on the breakfast bar. Nell caught a whiff of what she thought was ginger and felt her mouth water. In her business of taking care of Eric and cleaning up his house she had forgotten to eat lunch.

"Lifesavers! What have you brought me?" They both began taking out cartons and boxes, Kensi opening them and Nell eagerly peeked into each one.

"You have soy, honey and ginger pork," Kensi handed Nell the carton and laughed as she sneakily popped a bit of pork in her mouth and moaned as the flavour exploded on her tongue, "I have General Tsao's Chicken, and Deeks has stir fry tofu." Both the women wrinkled their noses in disgust at Deeks' choice of dinner, but he merely grabbed the carton and opened it, shaking a lump of tofu out into his mouth. The three friends emptied containers of fried noodles onto their plates and grabbed some chopsticks from the bags, just as Eric's bedroom door opened.

"Geez, did you party all night or something?" Deeks joked as Eric stumbled into the living area and collapsed straight onto the couch.

"Shuddup." Came the muffled response from the pillows. Nell turned to the stove and heated up the broth she had made earlier in the day. When it was bubbling she turned the heat off from under it and poured a little into the mug, grabbing it and her plate before she went over to the couch. Kensi and Deeks had dropped themselves onto one sofa, their body language mirroring one another. Where Kensi was sitting on the left, she had her left leg bent up underneath her and her right foot up on the coffee table. Deeks was on the right and had his right leg bent under him and his left foot up on the table. Eric was awkwardly folded over one arm of the sofa, face down, butt up. Nell carefully put their respective meals down on the table and nudged him in the ribs.

"Hey you, sit properly." She passed by him and plopped herself down on the only vacant seat. Eric reluctantly crawled over the arm of the sofa and twisted so his butt was in the right place and he was leaning back against the cushions. The effort seemed to tire him out a bit as he closed his eyes and took a second to get his breath back. Wisely Deeks decided not to comment, "I've made you some broth, which you need to drink, okay?" She said, handing him his mug. He took it and gave her a grateful smile, taking a small sip. She grabbed her own plate and chowed down on the delicious Chinese food.

They all ate in silence. Unsurprisingly Eric finished first and put his mug back on the table before twisting and laying back on the couch, putting his head in Nell's lap. She finished a moment later and moved him a little so she could reach the coffee table before moving back and allowing him to settle back down. She smiled down at him as he closed his and she began to softly run her fingers through his hair again. Each time she did it she noticed that he started to smile a little, and this time wasn't any different. She didn't notice the other set of partners on the adjacent sofa had both stopped their chopsticks halfway to their mouths, and were staring at them in shock. Deeks apparently recovered first and dropped his would-be mouthful back on his plate.

"Well, you two are looking, um… cosy… over there?" The two geeks looked over, well, Nell looked, Eric just frowned without even opening his eyes. Her hand stilled on his head and he nudged it, reminding her to keep going, "You know, Monty does that when I stop scratching his head."

"Shut up." They said together and Eric started smiling again.

"So other than acting like Monty, how are you feeling Eric?" Kensi asked, nudging her partners knee with hers and making him drop his plate. Nell giggled and watched him collect the remaining food off his lap before throwing it onto his plate that he dropped onto the coffee table, before slumping back dramatically against the fluffed pillows.

"I've been better," Eric confessed, shuffling his head around on her lap to get more comfortable, "But I'm starting to feel relatively normal again, so you know." Kensi finished up her plate and slid it onto the coffee table a lot more delicately than Deeks had done but slumped back as equally ungracefully as him. The four sat in a companionable silence and let their meals digest. It was dark outside now, and the lights from the kitchen were the only ones on in the living area, combined with the faint light from the streetlights outside created a soft glow. Nell heard a soft snore coming from Kensi and Deeks' sofa and glanced over, seeing the two slumped back, Kensi's head leant on his shoulder and his head on top of hers. The two were fast asleep, "Are they snoring on my couch?" Eric's weak voice came from her lap and her eyes met his tired green ones.

"Yes, they are. Want me to wake them up?" He glanced over at them and closed his eyes before getting comfortable once more, "May as well, then they can snore in their own space." She laughed softly and stroked his hair once more before tapping his nose gently. He wrinkled it slightly at the contact. _God, he's adorable, _she thought and blushed before she spoke.

"'Kay, well, you're going to have to move Mr Beale." He grumbled but let her help push him up before propping him on the back cushions, "Alrighty you two, up and out of here." She said, clapping her hands to rouse the two sleeping agents. They both started and banged heads together causing Eric to give a rough chuckle which sent tingles through Nell. The two stretched and groaned, standing up and shuffling around. Deeks collected their dirty dishes and took them to the kitchen, putting them in the sink and running water over them. Kensi threw the cartons away and grabbed her keys which she had thrown on the counter at their arrival. As Deeks dried his hands Kens came over to Eric's couch and bent, planting a kiss on his forehead.

"You get better, Geek Boy." She said affectionately, giving him a very small tap on the shoulder.

"Thanks Kens." Eric smiled up at her and Nell felt a strange twinge in her gut. _God, you cannot be jealous!_ she thought angrily, but hugged Kensi all the same, pushing away the unwanted feelings.

"Hang loose, dude." Deeks called as he exited, making Kensi look back at the remaining duo and roll her eyes before following her partner out, closing the door behind her. Nell turned back to Eric, but saw that he had closed his eyes again.

"Come on, Eric," she said, tugging his hand, waking him up and pulling him to his feet, "Let's get you back to bed." He managed to walk to his room and plop face down onto the bed again, "Eric, do you want to get changed? You might be a bit more comfortable?" She asked, gently squeezing his ankle that was dangling off the side. He grumbled but pulled himself up into a sitting position. She ducked into his closet (which was a lot bigger than she was expecting when she had first entered it this morning) and went to his drawers. She pulled out a pair of boxers with surfboards all over them and a white singlet, taking them back to Eric in bed, "Want me to leave?" She asked. He shrugged and just pulled off his t-shirt followed by his shorts. She flushed and turned, heading over to the corner of the room where she had dumped her go-bag earlier. Retrieving her own pyjamas she went into his en suite and quickly changed. As she looked in the mirror while she brushed her teeth and ran her fingers through her hair she cursed the fact that she hadn't packed anything more conservative than a pair of shorts and a very loose tank top. However since she was planning on sleeping on the couch it wasn't the end of the world. When she got back to his room with her dirty clothes folded in her hands she stopped dead in her tracks. Eric, who had apparently been a lot more exhausted than she had thought, had fallen asleep part way through getting changed, leaving him without a shirt but with his colourful boxers on (_Thank God,_ she thought) and was currently slumped back on the bed with his legs off the side. She smiled at seeing him so innocent and quietly went about dropping her clothes in her bag and collecting his recently discarded items up, throwing them into the laundry bin by the door to the bathroom. When she got back to him she gently roused him for what felt like the 10th time that day, "Eric, come on, you'll be a lot more comfortable if you actually get into the bed." He mumbled, not fully waking up but still managing to crawl up the bed to rest his head on the pillows. She managed to tug the sheet out from under him and carefully tucked it over him and gathered the duvet off of the floor where she had dumped it earlier, laying that on top of her slumbering partner too. He shuffled slightly, getting more comfortable and sighed. She bent over and kissed his hair gently where it peaked out from under the covers, "Night, Wolfram." As she turned to go his hot hand shot out from under the duvet and sheets and grabbed her fingers.

"Stay." Looking down at him she stroked his hand gently with the fingers he wasn't grasping.

"Eric, I really shouldn't." She whispered. He opened his eyes and looked up at her pleadingly.

"Please, I want you to." He looked like a lost little boy, lying there staring up at her with wide, innocent green eyes, his skin slightly flushed with his fever. And just with that one look she was snared, unable to resist him. She tried to ignore his delighted smile as she went round the other side of the bed, lifting the covers and sliding in next to him. She noticed that his temperature had dropped significantly, she noticed, as the heat he was kicking out wasn't too much in excess than normal.

"Night." She whispered, and rolled onto her side, facing away from Eric, tucking one arm under her pillow. Eric sighed but rolled over and came up behind her. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her slowly to him, "What are you doing?" She asked, stealing his favourite line from the day.

"I'm still cold. And since you won't let me have another blanket…" He said trailing off as his voice became heavier with sleep. She gave a small laugh but couldn't resist snuggling back against him. She lay there for a while, listening to him breathing and took the hand of his arm that was wrapped around her in hers, tugging it tighter around her before allowing sleep to claim her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Authors Note;** Oh dear God! My poor readers! I am so, so sorry for not updating! I realise that you must be so disappointed! Or maybe I'm deluding myself, but hey, a girl can dream! Back on track, I'm sorry I haven't updated! Uni has been crazy these last couple of weeks and I have exams in the next few so I may not be able to update very quickly again! But after that it should be fairly regular. Thank you so much for not biting my head off!

On that note of excuses, please forgive me (again) for this chapter being slightly shorter than the others. I didn't want to leave you hanging any longer so posted what I've got.

So please, go ahead; ready, review, favourite, follow, message me and have a growl that I didn't update for so long! Whatever takes your fancy :)

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_He woke slowly and smiled. Her petite body was curled up in front of him and he could hear her breathing softly. He tightened his grip around her momentarily and heard her giggle._

"_Morning beautiful." He said, his voice laden with sleep, before he nuzzled his face into the back of her neck, peppering her exposed skin with kisses._

"_Eric," she giggled again, wriggling around in his arms as he continued his kisses across her shoulder, "Stop it!"_

"_Only if I get a kiss." He smiled and she shuffled so that she was lying on her back facing him._

"_A kiss? Huh?"_

"_Mm-hmm." He hummed, kissing her face gently._

"_Well come here then." She whispered and wound one arm around his neck, pulling his lips to hers. They kissed softly, slowly, until they were desperate for air. He pulled back reluctantly and pressed his forehead to hers._

"_I love you." He whispered and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead before rolling onto his back next to her, still gazing at her lovingly. She lifted her left hand and trailed her fingers over his face from his temple down his jaw and revelled in the feeling for a moment before ensnaring her fingers in his and pulling them to his lips, kissing each of them delicately. He took a moment to look at the two silver rings her ring finger. He kissed the cool metal and smiled. A loud cry came through the monitor on his side table and he groaned, but rolled over and snagged the offending object up and switching it off. She gave a heavy sigh before making to pull the covers off of her, "Don't worry, I'll get it." Eric said, rolling off the bed onto his feet and stretching._

_He left the bedroom and padded barefoot across the passage to the other room and entered. The baby was standing up in the crib, holding onto the side, red faced from crying._

"_Whats up, sweetie?" He cooed, gathering her up into his arms and kissing each of the baby's soft cheeks. The problem soon became apparent and he set about cleaning her up and soothing her cries. No matter what he did she wouldn't stop crying, so figuring she was hungry he went into the kitchen, holding her on his hip, and went about making her up a bottle, gently bouncing her up and down and making nonsense soothing noises. When the bottle was ready he tested the temperature and when satisfied it wasn't too hot he moved her around so she was supported before giving the bottle to her. He watched as she quieted and happily sucked the bottle, drinking its entire contents in a matter of minutes. When she was done he took the bottle back and put it in the sink, grabbing the old dish towel and throwing it over his shoulder and carefully patting her on the back. When she made an impressive belch for a baby her size he gave a soft laughed, disposing of the rag into the sink with the dirty bottle and pulling her round to face him, "Auntie K and Unca D would be very impressed by that gorgeous." He told her and kiss her nose, prompting her to give off an incredibly adorable giggle. She had become his whole world in the short 6 months that she had been in his world. _Actually, she's been the centre of your world for 14 and ½ months since you found out about her_, he thought and smiled ruefully. Her eyes which had been a piercing crystal blue at birth had changed and were settling on a dark green now, somewhere between his own green eyes and her mothers hazels. Her hair had also changed. No longer the platinum blonde it had been it was now a darker blonde with a slightly red tinge to it. She was the most beautiful little girl he had ever seen. She gave a big yawn and stretched her little arms out. He kissed her head softly and cuddled her to his chest, walking back into the nursery. As he sat in the old rocker he remembered decorating the place as a surprise to his wife. Seeing as they didn't know whether they were going to be having a baby boy or a baby girl the room was a neutral white with dark wood furniture, contrasting the light wood floors. The curtains were pulled closed and Eric went and sat on the bay window seat with his daughter. Watching her as she started to fall asleep he couldn't help but think about how he had never imagined that he would be so lucky to have a wife who he was so madly in love with and a daughter who he knew had him wrapped around her tiny, plump little finger. He didn't hear his wife's footsteps as she came into the room, starting slightly when she came and curled up next to him on the window seat, stroking a single finger over their baby's cheek._

"_She's so beautiful." She whispered, laying her head on his shoulder._

"_Just like her Mum." He answered, kissing his daughter's forehead and then his wife's._

"_Thank you."_

"_For what?"_

"_Kissing me that day. Putting up with me. Giving me chance. Not freaking out when I told you I was pregnant. Asking me to marry you. Being here. Taking care of us. Everything."_

"_You make it sound like a job?" He asked, making it sound more like a question._

"_It is in a way?" He couldn't believe what he was hearing and shifted the baby in his arms so he was cradling her with only one before moving around and facing his wife, cupping her cheek gently in his newly freed hand and forcing her eyes to meet his._

"_There is only one reason why I did all this, and its not because its a job, or a chore, or anything else like that." He said forcefully, but keeping his voice down so as not to wake the sleeping baby._

"_And why is that?" She whispered still looking unconvinced._

"_I love you, Nell Beale." He whispered and leaned in, kissing her on the lips with so much love that he was sure that there was no way she could be second guessing his feelings._

"_I love you, too, Eric Beale." She said when they pulled away._

Eric woke with a start feeling something wriggling in his arms. His eyes flew open and he saw Nell trying to get out from under his arm and move her head away from where his was nestled against hers without disturbing him. He didn't say anything, just lifted his arm and let her go. He flopped over onto his back watching as she disappeared into his bathroom. _What was that?_ he thought, as he tried to forget the feeling of dream-Nell's lips on his. He closed his eyes and sighed frustratedly. Hearing the bathroom door open he didn't react, not even when the bed dipped slightly under her weight as she sat down once more.

"How are you feeling?" She asked quietly, brushing her fingers over his forehead as she had been at random times since her arrival the previous morning.

"A lot better." He confessed, realising for the first time since he woke up that he didn't feel cold, even though he was shirtless, only wearing a pair of colourful boxers (a fact that he was still too tired to be embarrassed about).

"Your temperatures gone down to normal." She said, moving her fingers to brush through his hair.

"To be honest, I feel human again." He smiled, closing his eyes again and letting her touch sooth him, "I've got to ask." He said opening his eyes after a moment and looking up at her. _She's never looked more beautiful_, he thought, blushing slightly. But it was true. Her short hair was adorably ruffled on one side from sleep and her pajamas were crinkled. Her tank top was twisted slightly round, hanging loosely on her small frame and her shorts were folded up, becoming almost indecently short. She sat close to his side, one leg folded up so her knee was resting on his hip, supporting her body on one arm which was planted by his side across the bed so she was leaning over him.

"What?" She asked when he didn't immediately continue.

"You have a lot of experience looking after sick partners?" He smiled, letting her know that he was half joking, but that he was also curious to know the answer. She gave a small laugh and sat back, running a hand through her hair.

"I'm the second oldest in my family," she explained, "You know that there are a lot of us, and because both my parents worked full time whenever one of the young ones was ill it would mainly fall to us older ones to look after them."

"Ah, that explains it." He said in a know-it-all tone.

"Explains what?" She playfully glared at him and pushed his shoulder.

"Your maternal instinct," he explained. When she raised an eyebrow and looked half accusatory he held his hands up in mock surrender, "Not a bad thing! Promise! You're going to make an amazing mother one day." He finished before remembering the dream. He kept picturing their baby that his imagination had conjured up. He shook his head and hoped that she would attribute the slight flush that crept up his neck to the fact that he was still recovering from a fever, but when he looked back at her he noticed that her own cheeks had turned a delicate shade of pink, which pleased him immensely.

"Thanks." She mumbled, playing with her fingers. The silence stretched and started to become uncomfortable he glanced over at the glowing digits on his alarm clock. 5:45am. He groaned loudly and flung an arm over his eyes.

"I'm going back to sleep." He announced and felt the bed spring up as she stood before dipping on the opposite side when she crawled back into the bed. This time she came up to him, snuggling into his side. He lifted his arm so she could lay her head on his shoulder and she dropped one of her arms over his waist. She didn't seem to care that he was shirtless, something that he only remembered when her hair tickled his chest. His arm that had been over his eyes took on a life of its own and came down, playing with the fingers on her left hand. He missed the rings for a second, before remembering that that had all been a part of the dream. He sighed, and tried to put the dream out of his head before closing his eyes once more, revelling in the feel of her body pressed against his again, their legs entangled, "Your feet are cold." He whined and in response she just pressed them against the skin of his leg, making him hiss, "Seriously, they're ice blocks!"

"Stop moaning," she grumbled, fidgeting to get comfortable. When she eventually settled she pressed a delicate kiss to his jaw causing his heart to skip a beat, "G'Night."

"Night Nelly." He sighed, kissing the top of her head and falling back to sleep.

When he woke for the second time it was light outside his window. The curtains had been pulled back for the first time in 3 days and the light was nearly blinding. He blinked hard and rolled over stretching his arm out to search for his bed mate. Realising that the space where she had been was cold and empty he frowned before sitting up and making full use of all of his senses. He could smell a fresh batch of coffee and hear cupboards opening and closing in his kitchen. He managed to pull himself into a standing position and stumbled around, pulling on the t-shirt that, after he had discarded it the night before, Nell had moved to the chair in the corner of his room and fumbling around on the bedside table for his glasses. Without bothering to pull on pants he moved clumsily out into the kitchen to investigate the strange noises and found Nell, still in her pyjamas, pouring coffee into two mugs on a tray which was laden with pancakes, fresh fruit and a bowl of yoghurt, two plates and sets of cutlery and napkins.

"Hey," he rasped, coming around the breakfast bar into the kitchen and snagging one of the coffees from the tray, gulping a mouthful down before noticing that it was black with nothing added to it. Although he managed to force himself to swallow the boiling bitter liquid he couldn't help smiling at Nell's ringing laughter. She rarely let loose so even if it was his misfortune which caused it he couldn't begrudge her some happiness, "Yuck!"

"So that's all you were interested in? The coffee?" She joked raising a challenging eyebrow at him. This time he found himself sputtering on thin air. _Surely she wasn't suggesting.._ he thought. Having realised what he had assumed she turned a tomato red and managed to choke out, "Not that you would be interested in anything else!"

"I got it!" He said, grabbing the sugar pot off the bench and adding two generous teaspoons to his mug before taking another gulp, "So, you did all this for me?" He asked cockily, indicating the tray with the extravagant breakfast, "You know that cereal would be just as effective." She smiled and dropped her gaze, biting her bottom lip in a move that he knew wasn't supposed to be seductive but was even sexier because he knew that that wasn't her intention. _Stop!_ He mentally berated himself, but couldn't stop the smile on his lips.

"You said earlier you were feeling better, so I thought that something warm but light would help you get back on your feet." Momentarily stunned by her kindness he just stared at her until he got his voice back.

"And breakfast in bed was just an added bonus?" He took a step towards her, putting his now half empty coffee on the bench.

"Figured you would be too lazy to get up." She joked, poking his stomach lightly, but matching his step. They were now toe to toe, her head coming up to his chest so her neck was craned back so that their gaze could met, "What were you dreaming about last night?" She asked randomly, and he tripped a half step back.

"Er- Um- No-nothing!" He stuttered, trying to contain the blush, "Why'd you ask?"

"No reason, you just were mumbling and sighing a lot." She said, and he could see the curious look she was giving him.

"Eric," she closed the gap once more and this time he was pressed against the counter, "You said my name. And 'baby'." She said, eyebrow raised.

"I- I- I can explain!" He said, holding his hands up, "Although I don't think you'll want to hear."

"Try me."

"I.. had a.. a dream," he started slowly, convinced that he was about to ruin their entire partnership… friendship… thing, "That, um. That we were…"

"Were what?" Nell asked and he could tell from his tone that she was getting impatient.

"Thatweweremarriedandinloveandhadadaughterandwereh appytogether." He exhaled all in one breath, turning beet red and not meeting her gaze.

"Say that again?" She asked and he was sure that she had heard him from the slightly incredulous look she was giving him which he saw out the corner of his eye. He gave a heavy sigh and met her gaze. _Now or never._

"I had a dream that we were married, and in love, and had a daughter, and were happy together." His tone was steady, a total opposite to how he was feeling inside. Her response surprised him again.

"Was it a good dream? Or a bad one?" Their gaze was locked, and he felt in that moment that everything was about to change.

"Good," he breathed, unsure of who had moved towards who, but fully aware of the fact that their mouths were drifting closer, "Very good."


	4. Chapter 4

**Authors Note; **This is it. The final chapter - extra long to make up for the previous short one. I have a strange sense of accomplishment now and the support you guys has shown has given me such a boost in my confidence that I cannot wait to carry on with my writing (something I never dreamed would happen in a million years!). A huge shout out to nelliskinkyinbed and pracarual for their continued support, and to everyone else who has read, favourited, followed or reviewed. You guys are what us amateur writers need to continue with out writing.

So thank you once again for your support, now read and enjoy the final chapter :)

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Previously:

_"__I had a dream that we were married, and in love, and had a daughter, and were happy together." His tone was steady, a total opposite to how he was feeling inside. Her response surprised him again._

_"__Was it a good dream? Or a bad one?" Their gaze was locked, and he felt in that moment that everything was about to change._

_"__Good," he breathed, unsure of who had moved towards who, but fully aware of the fact that their mouths were drifting closer, "Very good."_

* * *

Their lips brushed and it was as if a switch flipped. She pushed forward, pressing her lips to his more firmly and lifting her hands, settling one against his neck and the other on his shoulder, giving her some leverage to balance as she stood up on her tip toes. His own hands moved, coming up to steady her body. He bunched one hand in her tank top at her waist and the other moved around her, pressing against the small of her back. When they were running out of air, he pulled back slightly, moving his lips to her cheek which he kissed softly. He kept his eyes closed, pressing his forehead to hers as he had done in his dream, terrified that if he opened his eyes he would wake up back in his bed. Her own lips brushed against his jaw, moving up towards his ear.

"Good." She breathed into his ear and he couldn't suppress the shudder that ran down his spine as her warm breath tickled his sensitive skin. They stayed wrapped up in one another, standing in his kitchen, for what felt like an eternity. Stealing kisses every now and then and sighing lightly. It was Nell who spoke up, breaking the comfortable silence. "What now?" She whispered, looking scared as she cast her gaze down to the floor.

"What do you mean?" He asked, pulling back so that his back was leant against the counter but his arms were loosely wrapped around her waist. She braced her own hands against his chest, but still didn't look at him.

"At work. Between us. I mean, what are we doing?" She tried to pull away from him and he could see the implications of what they had done strike her all at once; her entire body tensed, her eyes growing wide and fear creeping in, her lip trembled and she pushed against him, trying to get him to release her, "Oh God, we're colleagues. Partners, for heavens sake! We can't- We can't be involved!" Ignoring her protests he pulled her to him and kissed her firmly once again, pulling back and gently kissing each of her closed eyes, her temples, her cheeks, her nose, and finally her forehead until she relaxed once more.

"We'll be okay," he whispered, and his words seemed to drain the fight right out of her. She slumped against him, allowing him to support her full weight, and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face into his chest, "We can do this. I have waited so long to kiss you-"

"You already have." She interrupted, her voice muffled against him. He remembered their kiss under the mistletoe and smiled.

"I'm not counting that because you surprised me and I didn't get a chance to actually kiss you properly," he heard her giggle slightly and took that as a sign of encouragement, "So like I was saying. I have waited so, so long to kiss you properly, and I think that I've been steadily falling for you ever since you first bounced into ops and took my tablet from me." She pulled her head away from his chest and looked at him slightly surprised, but giggled again at his faux-annoyed glare.

"Well, if you had been running the right search parameters I wouldn't have had to!" She defended her actions, her eyes becoming challenging.

"Seriously?!" He asked, incredulously, "I'm trying to tell you I'm in love with you and all you got was that you snatched my tablet!"

"First, I didn't snatch, you had left it on the i- wait, what?" He laughed out loud at her stunned expression. She had finally realised what he had actually said and it had rendered her speechless apparently.

"I. Love. You. Nell. Jones." He said, punctuating each word with a kiss to various places on her face.

"You- You love me?" She whispered, not totalling convinced.

"Nell Diana Jones," he said, taking her face carefully between her hands and holding her gaze, "I am totally, 100%, irrevocably in love with you. I love you, Nell, I don't know how many different ways I can say it. _Ich liebe dick. Eu te amo. Je t'aime. Ik_-"

"Stop!" She cried, covering his mouth with a hand and laughing. Her eyes sparkled and once more a delicate blush touched her cheeks, "You love me." She whispered and looked up at him adoringly. He could see her hazel eyes swimming with unshed tears and for a moment he thought that he had done something wrong, "You love me." He was about to speak again, but realised that she was still covering his mouth. He felt his heart drop in his chest, and realised how presumptuous he had been, and reached up to move her hand.

"Nell, if you don't-" He couldn't bring himself to say the words so changed tack, "I um… I understand." He whispered, trying to move away from her.

"Stop!" She said again, her face turning panicked, "I'm just… trying to process," she whispered, "No one has ever said that to me before."

"What?" He asked. How could someone as beautiful as her never have been in love with someone or had someone tell her they loved her?

"I- I love you too," she said quietly and he felt like someone had lifted a tonne of lead off of his chest, "I love you too," she repeated, louder this time and with a smile spreading across her features so wide that he thought her face would split in two. She let out a light hearted laugh and pulled him down for a kiss. It was a simple kiss, filled with the emotions neither of them could find the words to voice. When they broke apart once more her smile was still there, "I love you." She repeated, pressing her forehead to his. He felt his heart swell and kissed her gently once more.

"So what now?" He asked cheekily and was rewarded by her giggling.

"Well, now," she said, stopping to kiss his lips chastly, "Now we are going to eat these pancakes." She dropped from her tip toes and moved away from him, using his surprise and temporary lack of motor function against him. She danced passed him, nabbing one of the plates and sets of cutlery from the tray and bouncing over to the breakfast bar, hopping up onto the stool, while he stayed where he was, staring after her dumbfounded.

"You- Wha-" He shook his head, trying to form a coherent thought and failing. He sighed in defeat and collected the other plate, disregarding his coffee which he knew by now would be cold. He sat on the stool next to hers and started to eat. They ate in silence, and he spent the time trying to process what had just happened moments before. When they both finished Nell collected their plates and dropped them in the sink, turning on the water and washing them. He stayed put, watching her move around effortlessly, and he just admired her. He got lost in his thoughts and didn't notice her leave the kitchen. She wrapped her arms around him from behind and rested her forehead against his back.

"You okay?" He asked, stroking her hands that were joined on his stomach.

"I'm more than okay." She said, coming around to his side, slipping under one of his arms and looking happily up at him, "Never better actually."

"Good." He whispered and he bent to kiss her thoroughly. As the kiss heated he twisted around so that she stood between his legs, her arms coming up to wrap around his neck while he tightened his grip around her waist. He tentatively opened his mouth and sucked her bottom lip. She moaned and the sound shot heat through his whole body, causing him to fist his hand in her shirt at her waist. She ran her fingers through his hair, gently scratching his scalp, causing a rush to run through him which, combined with the feeling of her body mashed against his and her insistent lips on his was proving to be almost overwhelming. He tortuously pulled away from her lips and groaned as she began to kiss her way across his jaw and down his neck, "Slow." He managed to pant, using all of his remaining self control to pull back slightly, "We need to- to take this slow." She looked up at him, her cheeks flushed and lips red, slightly swollen from their kisses.

"I guess." She sighed, gently kissing his cheek.

"You're going to be the death of me." He breathed, relishing the feel of her, hearing her give a breathy laugh and nuzzle his neck, dropping a hot, open mouth kiss on his throat, making him groan again, "So, what are your plans for today then, Miss Jones?" He asked, reluctantly pulling back so he could look at her face.

"Well, I was going to spend my day nursing my ill partner and uploading paperwork to the digital database, but seeing as you're all better I think I might head in to the office after lunch." She said, sounding a bit disheartened at the prospect.

"I'm not totally better," he urged, kissing her quickly making her smile, "So I think, seeing as Hetty already gave you the all clear to stay out of the office today, that you should stay here, with me." He finished with a cheeky grin, making her giggle.

"If you insist.." She said, and hugged him tightly.

"I insist." They shared a smile and kissed, looking into each others eyes lovingly.

"Well, I better go get dressed," she said, taking a step back from him, "Think you can stand in the shower by yourself today?" She smirked at him.

"I don't know…" He joked, standing too and moving into the kitchen, "I think I might need some help.."

"Oh, okay, I'll give Deeks a call." She quipped, winking at him before disappearing into the bedroom. He laughed out loud and marvelled at how much better he was feeling today. Three days ago he had been in bed, shivering his butt off, burning up and unable to move. Today he was kissing his partner. He stopped as that thought hit home. _I kissed Nell. I told Nell I love her. Nell loves me._ With the last thought a grin spread across his face and he couldn't help doing a little, dorky victory dance in the middle of his kitchen.

"_Ahem_," a cough brought him suddenly back to reality and he spun round, tripping over his own feet and only just managing not to fall flat on his face by grabbing the closest surface. He struck a ridiculous pose, trying to pull off blasé and failing miserably, meeting her amused stare, "You think you've got moves, Jagger?" She joked, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow.

"Um… yes- I mean, no? I mean- You know what, I'm just- I'm gonna go… get dressed." He said, practically running passed her, his face on fire. _Awsome_, he thought, closing the bedroom door behind himself and banging his head back against it. He dragged himself into the shower and took his time, washing his hair again, even though Nell had done it the day before. Really he was just prolonging the inevitability of having to face his partner (_Girlfriend?_) after having made an idiot of himself. He got out, dried his hair and wandered into his closet. He pulled on a pair of his signature shorts and a clean t-shirt, putting on real clothes for the first time in days. He had to admit that it felt good. _Best part of being sick, aside from Nell, of course_, he thought. He took a deep breathe before leaving the room. As he walked into the living area again he saw Nell organising a stack of papers and files and setting up her tablet at his rarely used dining she heard him re-enter the room she turned and smirked at him.

"Good shower, Mick?" He blushed at the name but nodded, moving into the kitchen.

"Coffee?" He asked, lifting the coffee pot to show her.

"Please." He made two coffees, one with milk for her and adding two sugars to his, and took them over to her at the table.

"Want some help?"

"You know, technically you're still on sick leave…" She said, smiling up at him and taking the proffered mug, "But sure." He went and collected his own tablet from where it had been changing at his workstation and coming back, taking a seat beside her.

"So what is it that we have to do?" He asked, turning it on and logging in.

"Okay, so these are all old aliases for undercover operations. These," she pointed at the first stack, "Are aliases currently in use which need to be updated and checked for mistakes. These," she indicated a second stack, about the same size, "Are aliases which aren't currently active, but are able to be used again. And finally these," She pointed at a considerably larger stack, "Are burned aliases. All of these need to be uploaded to the new secure inter-agency database. Some of the files have been marked as 'Foxtrot'. These ones need to have the agents name excluded, no picture, and no agency attached to them." He nodded and looked at all the files. There were a lot of them.

"So how long have you been doing this?" He asked, noticing a fourth stack.

"These one's I've already uploaded. Hetty asked me to do a few just before her 'sabbatical'," she frowned at the mention of Hetty's unexplained disappearance right when they needed her most about two years ago, "But told me it wasn't urgent. Since then the files have just been piling up. Guess this was the perfect opportunity to get on top of it." He grabbed his first file and opened it. There was a picture of a good looking African American women. The 'name' field read 'Elizabeth Cummings'. The rest of the dossier had every detail about 'Elizabeth Cummings' life. There was a lot.

"Guess we better get to work then." She smiled at him gratefully and turned her attention back to her own file.

The two worked in synchronised silence for a couple of hours, the only noises being rustling paper and the dull sound of tapping on screens as they typed. After the 2 hour mark passed Eric put his work down, stretching and yawning.

"I need coffee." He said, and stood, his back clicking loudly. Nell wrinkled her nose at the sound, but stood as well, rubbing her eyes.

"Yes please." He went to the kitchen and made the beverages while she disappeared into the bathroom. As she came back out he was just carrying a box of Oreos out of the cupboard and over to the table. Her smile brightened when she saw the box in his hands and he laughed as she practically snatched it away from him, tearing into it and shoving the first cookie into her mouth whole.

"You know, we're not in ops," he pointed out, sitting back in his seat, "We can eat and drink AND work, all at the same time."

"I know," she said, curling her legs up on the seat so she was sitting cross legged, "But Oreos deserve my full attention." He laughed at her childishness, but didn't argue, taking one of the delicious cookies out and munching on it contentedly, "So, what happens at work?"

"Hmm?" He hummed, still intent on demolishing his share of Oreos.

"With us. At work. What are we supposed to do?"

"Oh, well," he said, turning his full attention to her, putting his empty coffee mug on the table and brushing the crumbs off his fingers, "At work we organise case briefings, run searches, track suspects, play Big Brother, you know, the usual."

"Eric. You know that's not what I mean." Nell said, heaving a sigh and turning to face him, pulling one knee up to her chest and resting her chin on it, "What do we do about us working together?"

"Nell, I don't understand why this has to change us at work?"

"Okay, well, as long as you promise to behave."

"Me behave?!" He cried indignantly, "You're the one who kissed me at work!"

"That was one time!" She said, throwing her hands up, "And it was after hours AND there was no one around AND it was Christmas!"

"Thats beside the point! We managed to function pretty normally after that at any rate, so I say we just do the same thing now, yeah?" She nodded her head and leaned over to kiss his cheek, "Everything will be fine as long you don't flirt with Nate when he comes round again." He couldn't resist teasing.

"Oh my God, I was not flirting with him!" She cried, indignant once again.

"Oh you so were! He said so himself!"

"Well you were the one that just blurted out 'Nell kissed me' at random!"

"I- You- Only because you were flirting with him!"

"Well as long as you don't do that again this time things will be fine!" They both glared at one another for a moment, their stubbornness not along either of them to give in, before they both grinned. He leant over and planted a gentle kiss on her lips, tangling his fingers in her hair. He felt her smile against his lips and pulled back slightly, looking at her quizzically, "I wasn't done with you." She said, her hand going to the back of his neck and pulling his lips back to hers. It was his turn to smile into the kiss now, and they continued kissing softly for a while.

"You know, I quite like this way of working." He grinned pulling back from her again.

"Sadly, I think this is exactly what we won't be doing at work." She pouted, but squeezed his hand.

"Yeah, I know, but a guy can dream, huh?" She laughed and turned back to the files.

"You're right." Eric stopped the cookie halfway to his mouth and stared at her.

"Sorry, I don't think I heard you correctly. Did you just say I was right about something?" Nell rolled her eyes and punched his shoulder lightly, snagging the cookie out of his fingers at the same time.

"I think that we should take advantage of the fact that we're here and not in the office.." she said slyly, picking up the stacks of files and carrying them over to the coffee table, dumping them and coming back, tucking her tablet under one arm and collecting up her coffee and Oreos and going back to the sofa, plopping down. He watched her organise her stacks of files and set her beverage down before collecting the file she was working on and sitting back in the sofa with her tablet.

"What are you doing?" He asked slowly.

"Like I said, taking advantage of the fact that we're not at the office." She looked up at him impishly from where she sat across the room, but quickly returned her attention back to her work. He sighed and followed her lead, collecting up his things and collapsing on the couch next to her.

* * *

Somehow he managed to focus again on the task at hand and once more they found themselves working in relative silence for a few hours. At some point Nell shuffled next to him and leant her back against his shoulder, but apart from that they worked as usual. It was just beginning to get dark outside when Nell broke the silence making a moaning noise as she dropped her things back to the table and stretched. Eric was just finishing up his last file and indicated for her to wait a moment before he too dropped his things and sank back into the cushions, this time pulling Nell back with him and wrapping his arms around her. She settled against his chest, letting her head loll back to rest against his shoulder, sighing happily. He kissed the back of her head gently before tipping his own head back to rest on the back of the couch.

"I never fully appreciated how much work the agents put in to maintain their covers." He murmured, closing his eyes and massaging his forehead with his free hand.

"That's one of the things that makes me reconsider an option to jump into the agent side of things."

"You would want to?" He was surprised by her answer, but gave he squeezed her shoulders gently.

"I've thought about it. But I obviously have a long way to go." Eric smiled at her but couldn't stop his mind from racing. If Nell left ops that would leave Eric there alone again. He would've never dreamed of saying it when she first started, but he didn't know if he would ever be able to work as effectively as a solo act anymore. On occasion when she had gone out into the field he had had to multitask on top of trying to ignore the worry he felt at her being out of the office. And on those occasions his competence had slipped enough for at least Hetty to notice. If she was in the field full time he would have to find someone else to help him with his workload, which would mean bringing someone else onto the team, which would alter all the partnership dynamics that they had all struggled so much to achieve. Nells hand brushing his cheek brought him out of his thoughts. Her head was tilted back to look up at him and he met her gaze, "Eric, I'm not going anywhere any time soon, okay?" She reassured.

"But you might someday?" He cursed the fact that his voice sounded so quiet and full of betrayal. She sighed, moving away from her position against his body and turning to face him fully.

"Someday, maybe. But like I said, not for a very long time yet. And you know, you might eventually leave too."

"No I wouldn't," he said automatically, "Not voluntarily at least." She sighed, the sound sitting heavily in his chest.

"Can we just leave it at the fact that I'm not planning on leaving anytime soon, neither are you, so we can just carry on like normal?" It was his turn to sigh, but he nodded his head all the same.

"Okay."

"Okay." Nell crawled close to him again, this time coming over and straddling his lap. She wound her arms around his neck and buried her face into his shoulder. He in turn wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close, inhaling her familiar scent and allowing it to reassure him that she was still here, with him. _For now_, his treacherous mind added, but he threw the thought away. They stayed like that for a while, just breathing each other in, taking comfort in their presence, "You know that doesn't count as our first fight as a couple, right?"  
"What?" He asked, totally taken aback by her question. She pulled back and grinned at him.

"They say that everyones first fight as a couple is always the biggest? That would be a totally lame first fight." He laughed at her silliness and kissed her thoroughly. She laughed against his lips, but kissed him back with equal fervour. When they pulled back they just grinned at one another before Nell bounced up off his lap, switching off their tablets and piling up the files, putting them into the box Deeks and Kensi had brought them in for her the day before, "What do you want for dinner?"

"I really don't want to cook," he admitted and went to the kitchen, looking through his freezer for something he could heat up for the two of them. Finding nothing he turned and looked at her guiltily, "Pizza?"

"Pizzas fine." She said, disappearing into the bathroom. As Eric grabbed the phone off the bench he dialed the local pizzeria, opening the fridge and snagging two beers. The person on the other end picked up and he placed his order, fishing a bottle opener out of one of the drawers and attempting to open the beer. Nells hands snagged the opener out of his hand just as the pizzeria employee told him that his delivery would be there in about 30 minutes.

"You, mister, have just spent the last three days in bed sick," she said, putting one of the beers back in the fridge and instead retrieving a can of Sprite, which she cracked open and handed to him, "Alcohol is probably the last thing you need." He pouted at her, but took a dutiful sip of lemonade all the same.

"Well then I think you should forgo the alcohol, as your duty as a girlfriend requires you to be sympathetic to my needs and limitations." He joked as she took a swig of her newly opened Corona.

"Girlfriend?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. He blushed at having been presumptuous again and began to stutter some kind of apology when she cut him off, "It's fine, Eric. Its just 'girlfriend' is such a.. a high school word.." She trailed off.

"Oh, okay," he said, and smirked cheekily at her, "So as a partner duty then?" She laughed and kissed him delicately.

"Hey, we never got to watch our movie yesterday because _someone_," she poked his chest playfully, "Fell asleep."

"Is that right?" He asked, kissing her nose, "Well then I guess we're just going to have to watch it tonight aren't we." She pulled away from his arms and skipped out of the kitchen, beer in hand.

"I'm going to have a shower before the pizza gets here."

"'Kay, I'll let you know when to come eat." He called, taking another swig of his lemonade. As he heard the shower switch on and the bathroom door in his en suite close, Eric moved back to the couches and put his can down on the coffee table. He went about moving Nells box of files and dropped it by the door, ready to be taken out to her car the next day. He then collected up their various used coffee mugs and the now empty Oreos box, getting rid of them in the kitchen. Before plopping back onto the sofa he snagged up the remote for the tv and switched it on. Finding a new channel he watched idly, drinking his soft drink and waiting either for Nell to emerge or the pizza to turn up. As it happens he was rescued from watching a recap of some football game by a knocking on the door. He jumped up and went to open the door, seeing the usual delivery guy standing there with a pizza box.

"Hey man," Eric said, holding the door open and reaching to grab the pizza, "What do I owe you?"

"Just $22." The teen smiled.

"Awesome just let me grab my wallet." Eric turned away from the door and grabbed his wallet from where he had left it on the breakfast bar with his phone and keys. He payed the guy, giving him a generous tip, and brought the pizza into the kitchen. Just as he opened the box Nell emerged from the bedroom in her pyjamas from the night before.

"What'd you get?" She asked, opening the fridge and getting out a can of Coke.

"Half cheese, half pepperoni."

"Who's half is who's?" She asked, testing him. He grabbed two plates out of the cupboard and scooped out a couple of pieces of each, handing her one plate.

"Of course yours is the one with all the pepperoni on it." She smiled and kissed him, taking the plate and her drink and moving into the lounge. She sat on the couch facing the tv and waited for him to join her before turning on the DVD player. He switched off the lights in the lounge, leaving the one in the kitchen on to provide some light, before joining her and beginning to munch his pizza happily. As the opening credits started he felt Nell turn towards him.

"Why have we never done this before?"

"Done what?" He asked, swallowing his mouthful quickly.

"Pizza and a movie. I mean, we've been friends for what, 2 years now? You would think that we would actually hang out at each others places once in a while." He thought back to all the times that they had seen each other outside of work and realised that she was right. Them hanging out usually consisted of drinks at a bar with the team, karaoke with the team or sometimes just Kensi and Deeks, hanging at the beach, and one time they'd gone to Comic Con together. But other than that they had never actually just hung out at someones place.

"Huh, I guess you're right."

"I mean, is it weird that Deeks has probably been to my place more than you have?" He laughed at that, before picking up on she had actually said.

"Wait, Deeks has been to your place?"  
"Well, yeah, we've had a few movie nights." He noticed she was blushing and turned to face her more fully, totally disregarding the epic escape scene that was playing out on his flat screen.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Are you jealous or something?" She asked, her eyes sparkling with mischief when she noticed his expression.

"Jealous? Pssh, no! I just- You've had movie nights with Deeks? As in Detective Deeks?"

"Yes," she laughed, "We have watched movies together, why is that so weird!"

"Well what did you watch?" He grilled, trying and failing miserably to keep the unbelieving and jealous tone out of his voice. She smirked once more which only caused his curiosity to peak.

"He swore me to secrecy."

"I promise I won't tell a soul." He tried, now really curious to get the answer.

"It wasn't horror movies or anything like that," she said, laughing at his face, "Nothing that had me cuddling up to him, I promise."

"Well what was it then?!" This time she didn't respond just turned and looked back at the screen resolutely, "Nell!" He cried, desperate for an answer. Taking a long drink from her can she made it perfectly clear she wasn't going to answer him, so he sat back in a huff, pizza lying forgotten on the table, and folded his arms over his chest, pouting. After what felt like an age he heard Nell mumble something from next to him and whipped his head around to try to hear her better. Whens he mumbled again he thought he heard her say 'Phantom of the Opera', but was sure he was wrong. Just to make sure though he asked, "I'm sorry, did you just say you watched Phantom of the Opera with Deeks?" She didn't answer immediately but her lips turning up in a little smirk was all that he needed as confirmation, "What else?!" He demanded, knowing there had to be more to it than that.

"Funny Girl, West Side Story, Chicago, Sound of Music. You know, musicals."

"You're telling me that you managed to bribe our friend Marty Deeks to watch musicals with you? How on earth did you manage to do that?!"  
"Oh I didn't bribe him, it was the other way round!" She said, once more participating in the conversation.

"He bribed you?"  
"Yes! Said that he would never be able to watch them with Kensi because she would just use them against her. Callen and Sam already caught him once when he 'took his girlfriend' to see Phantom in Vegas, and he said that asking you to watch them is just plain gay. Hetty, well, he said that after watching half an hour of Phantom with Hetty he couldn't actually enjoy the film without picturing her and Gerald Butler after some tale or rather than she had told him. So that left me. And I'll have you know that I think that it makes Deeks very cultured to be comfortable enough to watch a musical with a friend and sing along to the main themes too." Eric sat staring at Nell in disbelief.

"You are joking right? Deeks actually asked you to watch musicals with him?" She laughed and shook her head.

"Yes Eric, Deeks asked me to watch musicals with him. And I did. And it was fun!" He tried to picture it in his head, but he just couldn't, "Now, if you're done with the Spanish Inquisition, I would love to actually be able to watch this movie tonight." She turned back to the tv and watched. Shaking his head he turned to and wrapped an arm her shoulders, pulling her gently to his body for a cuddle. Once they were comfortable they fell quiet and turned their full attentions to the movie.

The final credits began to play and Eric rolled his neck. Even though he had spent the last three days in bed doing little more than sleeping he was still exhausted. Glancing down he smiled as he saw Nell. Her eyes were closed and her lips were partly open. She sighed in her sleep and snuggled closer to him.

"Nell," he whispered, kissing the top of her head, "Nelly." He tried again, shaking her shoulder slightly. She moaned, her eyes fluttering open. For a split second he saw a look of total confusion on her face and momentary panic, but when she caught his gaze as he was staring down at her she smiled, still very sleepy, and nuzzled her face into his chest.

"Hey," She croaked, voice husky from sleep, "Oh is the movie over? How long was I out for?" To her displeasure he moved away from her warm body so he could reach the remote on the table and turn the tv and dvd off. He stood, taking a moment to stretch before collecting up their dirty dishes and returning them to the kitchen. He put the plates in the sink and quickly filled it with hot water, washing them quickly and leaving them to drain on the draining board. He grabbed a clean plate out the cupboard and loaded up the remaining pizza slices, covering it with cling wrap and putting it in the fridge. He discarded the now empty delivery box and whipped the work surfaces off. After he was satisfied that he could leave the rest of the dishes for the morning he walked back over the lounge area in the dark after switching off the kitchen lights, closing the curtains on the way. When he got there he looked at the seat that he had vacated minutes ago. Nell was curled up into the cushions which were still holding warmth from his body, once more asleep. He sighed and brushed the hair back from her face, bending and kissing her temple. She didn't move, and rather than waking her once more he decided to just carry her to bed. He slipped one arm under her knees and the other around her shoulders, and carefully lifted her up to a seated position. Making sure her head was supported on his shoulder he lifted her small body, mildly surprised at how little she weighed. Of course he wasn't expecting her to be heavy, but although she was petite she still carried a fair bit of muscle. He walked to the bedroom, trying not to jostle her or bang her head on the door. When he got to the bed he gently put her down on the right side and slide the covers out from under her. As he pulled the duvet up to her shoulders she smiled in her sleep and rolled over to the empty side of the bed, reaching a hand out to look for him. Her little smile quickly turned into a frown when she only found more cold sheets. He went to his side, stripping off his shirt and shorts before crawling in beside her. He set the alarm on his phone for 7am grudgingly, but knowing that they had to go to work the next morning. He settled down and reached an arm out towards Nells hand, entangling their fingers gently. She smiled again and moved closer to his warmth so that she ended up with her back pressed against his chest, and his arm which had the hand holding hers was wrapped around her tightly. He closed his eyes and sighed, leaning forward and gently kissing the back of her head.

"Night Nell." He whispered, closing his eyes and letting sleep overcome him.

* * *

**Authors Note; **Hey, so one final note. I've started on a sequel for In Sickness and In Health. Now, before you start cheering, I won't be able to post it for a little bit, but if you keep checking my profile any new updates will be mentioned there.

Once again, thanks for the love and support, and don't hesitate to message me if you have any questions.

daftmunky xx


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